Abstract

The use of plant species to remove pollutants from soils is generally defined as phytoextraction. In order to evaluate phytoextraction of contaminated soils, a pot experiment was conducted using two plants Broad bean (Vicia faba), Wild mustard (Brassica arvensis) and three kinds of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Ni) with 3 levels in a completely randomized factorial design with three replications. A reverse relationship was found between heavy metal concentration in treatments and biomass production of selected plants. Accumulation of Pb was found more in the roots while accumulation of Cd and Ni was more in the aerial parts. The maximum translocation factor value was obtained for nickel and cadmium in wild mustard. The highest transfer coefficient observed for nickel and cadmium where the lowest transfer coefficient observed for Lead. Uptake index showed that wild mustard had a better potential for cadmium phytoextraction.

Key words: Phytoexraction, cadmium, lead, nickel, broad bean, wild mustard.